From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Trump adviser Waltz hails Netanyahu’s war decisions as creating opportunities to advance peace
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
WASHINGTON — US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz praises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the military operations he has authorized throughout the region have created opportunities to advance peace in the region.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Waltz says today’s meeting between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump will “be focused on the future of Gaza, the destruction of Hamas and getting our folks out.”
“But there’s so many opportunities now in the region, largely thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli leadership,” he says, pointing to the new leadership in Lebanon, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the weakening of Iran.
He acknowledges that the US still has to deal with the Houthi threat to international shipping but expects its European allies to “step up and help us with that issue.”
“There’s a lot of opportunity in the region, and there is real optimism,” Waltz says.
“The next round of the Abraham Accords — that’s the goal.
“If we’re talking, in President Trump’s term, about rail projects, fiber optics, data centers, energy and getting back to the peace that he had in his first term, then that is a transformative success only President Trump could [deliver],” he adds.
The Times of Israel Community.